Bonino says don't blame Germany for Italian debt

Budget problems domestic issue, says foreign minister

(ANSA) - Berlin, February 6 - Italy is responsible for its
own fiscal problems and should not blame Germany, Foreign
Minister Emma Bonino was quoted as telling a German newspaper in
a report published Thursday.

"Those who consider Germany responsible for all (problems)
not only tell a lie, but behave unfairly," she said in an
interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, one of the country's
largest dailies.

Some have blamed Germany, the strongest economy in Europe,
for having too strong a voice in setting stringent policies
concerning debt and deficits for other nations in the Eurozone.

Those policies, in turn, have required Italy to cut deeply
on spending and raise taxes during its worst recession in the
post-war period.

Italy's debt is now more than two trillion euros.

Bonino said many of Italy's problems are homegrown, but
some politicians try to find something external to blame.

"Some political leaders (blame) a scapegoat," she said in
the interview.

"We need to correct this setting. The Italian economy has
not grown for more than ten years. This is not the fault of
some(one) abroad," she added.
According to Bonino, Italy has many domestic problems in
its economy to deal with, from crumbling infrastructure, to
labour market inefficiencies, to an under-performing justice
system.

Italy's regionalist Northern League has been a strong
critic of Italy's membership in the eurozone, condemning the
common currency as the reason for most of the country's
problems.